The Man With the Mantra
by Rose Aarac
Summary: Episode-Fic. Booth and Brennan are kidnapped while investigating the murder of a man... with a bunch of mantras. Sort of like 'Aliens in a Spaceship' because the case is still a main part, but not the focus, by the end. R: T for violence, language & theme
1. Chapter 1

The Man with the Mantra

A "Bones" FanFic

_**Disclaimer: 'Bones' is the copy-righted work of its writers, producers and Fox. Seeing as I am none of those, I do not own 'Bones'. No copy-right infringement intended.**_

_**A/N: This was my very fist FanFic EVER. I started writing it a very long time ago… even before I BEGAN writing 'Homecoming' and 'Something to Make Him Different'. It has taken a very long time for one reason: my desire for perfection. I have had to go back and re-read this multiple times to make sure that everything stayed true to the characters, possibilities of things actually happening, and (of course) that there were no spelling or grammatical errors. **_

_**A/N 2: This fic is meant to be read as an episode… I guess making it an EpisodeFic. However, if it were truly an episode, it would end on a cliffhanger so that you would be forced to watch (or in this case read) the next one. There will not be a 'next one', so this fic will have an EPILOGUE at the end to give it a more completed aura. Oh yeah. That's right. I brought up auras.**_

* * *

Chapter One:

* * *

It was dark.

Temperance Brennan stirred. Her head hurt, and her abdominals were sore. _As if I was kicked, _she thought, but the thought quickly left her aching head. Looking around her surroundings did not help. She couldn't see anything more than a few inches away from her. She tried to lift herself up, but did not succeed, causing her attention to be directed at what – rather whom – she was lying on.

Ignoring anthropological evidence that she would have noticed, had she been able to see, such as the broad shoulders, approximate height and weight, Brennan assumed that she did not know this person.

After coming to this conclusion, she decided to try and move. It didn't work out too well. So she satisfied herself with laying her head back where it was before she stirred. Moments after returning to this position she felt arms wrap around her waist, and pull her tight.

She inhaled deeply, in an attempt to calm her nerves. What she got was a far too familiar scent.

"Booth?" She asked tentatively.

"Shhh… Bones. You've got to be quiet!"

"Why are you holding me?"

"Because! I don't know where we are, how we got here or who brought us here. Are you hurt?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe. My head hurts and my abdominals are sore, as if I was kicked. I will be able to know more when I can see."

"Yeah, it is dark in here. Let me know if you need to move or something."

"Okay. Booth……"

"Yes, Bones?"

"How long do you think we've been here?"

* * *

_**IN THE LAB…**_

"I have new information on the case!" Hodgins excitedly yelled across the platform. A few weeks ago, he might have added that he was also now 'King of the Lab' but, now Zach was gone, so there was really no point in it. It was hard, but he had to accept it.

"That's great." Cam said, obviously more interested in her computer screen. "Angela already made me happy a few hours ago. Her sketch of our victim got a hit on the missing person's database. His name is Richard Glocken. I sent Booth and Dr. Brennan to question and console the family a few hours ago. Why its taking so long, I don't know."

"Wait! Glocken as in 'Clockin' Glocken' the KING of the mantra stage?"

"Sure, why not Hodgins," came the sarcastic reply.

"Whoa… Clockin' Glocken was famous for repeating his mantras all the time. He was trying to be the fastest talker in the world. Always said he'd never give up. Dude was totally paranoid… looks like he was right to be!"

"I'll say. My guess is that cause of death is because of a bullet to the head. I'll have to wait until Dr. Brennan gets back to confirm this…" She had to stop herself from continuing the sentence with _'because Zach's gone.'_ She herself felt like she had lost a member of her family since Zach had left. And she had only known him for a couple years. The others had known him much longer.

"Ok, well I found something that can tell us the location of the murder. The floor was littered with particles congruent with a cement factory, most likely a warehouse. I'm about to run checks to narrow the location, but I'm comfortable with the assumption that the warehouse is somewhere in the Philadelphia region because of certain plant life and insect activity found on the victims clothes." Hodgins stopped for a breath. "I'm going to go find Angela now."

"Oh, I don't know, Bones. I woke up a little before you did. Since we can't see the sun, we have no reliable way of telling time. It could be anywhere from a few hours, to almost an entire day… Did you hear that noise?"

"No. You're probably imagining things, Booth. We've obviously been kid-"

"Shhh…. Nope. I heard it again. Now, I would feel a lot more comfortable if you would let me flip us over that way I will take the brunt of whatever will happen to us."

"What do you think will happen to us?"

"Most likely some form of torture. Kicking, beating. That kind of thing."

"But why would you want to take the brunt of that? It's not logical to knowingly submit to assault."

He ignored her. Unwrapping his arms he carefully lifted her up, taking care to remember that she had already been kicked, and placed her next to him. The next part was more difficult. He couldn't move himself on his own. "Bones, will you take my hand and pull me?"

"YOU! You lifted me up and put me over here. As if I were an object, something you possess." But she complied and within moments he was lying on top of her, prepared to use his body as a shield for her. Still taking care not to place his full weight on her so that she didn't end up hurt more than she already was, Booth made himself comfortable.

She had moved her hand over to where he had previously been lying and it was wet. _Strange_, she thought. She dipped her finger in the liquid and sniffed it. It was blood.

Just as she was about to point this out to Booth, she heard a door open. A small bit of light entered the room followed by a man. She felt Booth arrange himself so that his hands were under her back, holding her, or more accurately, her to him so that they couldn't become disconnected.

She also noticed that he had pulled her arms under him, and that they were nearly nose to nose.

Then the first hit came. Then the second. The third, fourth and fifth followed. After that Brennan stopped counting. All she felt were the repercussions. Like the aftershocks of an earthquake. Booth never made a sound, never moved his head, and never changed his position. She thought of how much this must have been hurting him. And how it could've been her had he not insisted that she move. And how angry she was that he was being hurt. She quickly pushed this thought away. Anger was an irrational emotion that would not help their situation at all.

"Dammit, dude. You are one helluva tough guy! You haven't even given me the chance to hurt your partner. Yeah, I know you two are partners. The hunt is always more fun than the kill. But I hope to change that with you two. The FBI Agent and his beautiful partner. You just couldn't let a few things slide. That's too bad. I'm going to take a few pictures now. I'm sure your friends will love to see your picture! Especially with the price-tag I'm going to attach. Then I'm going to be back in a few hours and we'll do this again. Oh and Dr. Brennan? I can't wait for when your Special Agent partner gets knocked out so I can finally enjoy you to your full potential."

At this Booth tightened his grip on his partner and thought, _Like hell you will. _He felt her shudder and smiled inwardly. He knew she'd fight it, if this bastard got what he wanted. But Booth said a silent prayer that he wouldn't even come close to getting what he wanted, and that put his mind at ease.

"Excuse me? Dr. Saroyan?" A security guard tentatively asked.

"Yes, what is it? I'm very busy, and still have no idea where my forensic anthropologist and her partner are." Cam practically snapped back. She instantly regretted it when she saw the hurt look on the man's face. "I'm sorry, I'm very touchy today," she said with a smile. "What do you have to tell me?"

"Well, Dr. Saroyan, its not so much something I have to tell you as give you. A mysterious letter was dropped off at Jeffersonian addressed to 'The Friends of Dr. Temperance Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth'. There is no return address and no postal stamp so that is how we know it was hand delivered. After an initial screening, conducted without opening the letter, my men found no reason to believe there is any kind of poison in the envelope."

"Umm… Thank you. I guess." Cam said. _What could this possibly be? _She wondered, turning the envelope over in her hands. _Maybe I should open this with the others around. Yes, I'll definitely do that._

So she went off to find Angela and Hodgins, hoping with all her heart she wouldn't have to threaten them with cold water… Again.

Walking to Angela's office, Cam was anxiously waiting to open the letter. She entered the office and was surprised to find that Hodgins and Angela were only standing in the middle of the room holding each other. No making out or being otherwise obvious about their relationship. Just holding each other.

Angela was the first to see Cam. "Oh, hi Cam!" she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I just, I mean, I said that I'd give something to Zach to look at… But he's not here, y'know? I – I guess I forgot that…"

"No problem, Angela. I just wanted to inform you that I was just given and interesting letter addressed to 'The Friends of Dr. Temperance Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth'. I haven't opened it yet. I have no idea what it is, so that's why I came in here. Whatever it is, we will all know about it at the same time. So, who wants to do the honors?" She smiled and held out a pair of gloves and the letter. "What no takers? Well, I guess I'll open it then."

Cam put on the gloves and carefully opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper folded in thirds. There were things folded into the paper so she tipped it up and a few Polaroid's fell into her hand.

They instantly caught Angela's attention. She ran to her desk, grabbed a couple gloves, gave one to Hodgins and put the other on. She grabbed the pictures and gasped. "These are captioned 'T. Brennan and S. Booth'. They are from different angles," she gasped. "You can't see Brennan at all!"

Hodgins put his arm around his fiancé's shoulders, trying to be comforting. "Angie, I'm sure she's in there somewhere." His attention turned to Cam, who was reading the paper that had encased the photos. "Cam, what does that say?" No response. "Cam? Cam?!" He snatched the paper away from her, and read aloud:

"_To the friends of Dr. Temperance Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth,_

_I'm sure by now you are wondering what has happened to the good doctor and her partner. Well, I hope that these pictures are satisfactory. Their safety is guaranteed for 4 days, in which time you will receive many more of these letters. If in 4 days you do not follow the instructions below, they will be murdered, and you will be responsible. _

_If you follow the instructions below, they will be returned to you in 4 days time, relatively unharmed. Of course, they will be tortured before then; isn't that unfortunate? Of course my original plan will have to be altered, as Seeley Booth did not move from his position covering his partner during the entire first round of torture. What it entailed, I will not disclose, but feel confident assuming it was not pleasant. Once I break him, I intend to force him to watch whatever I do to his stunningly beautiful partner. But more about that later. _

_Your directions are simple. You have 24 hours to gather 10 million dollars. In 24 hours time, you will be given another one of these letters with information for depositing this money. It is currently 12:54 PM on Tuesday. Go._

_PS: You've got to learn to let some things go… Glocken knew I was after him. It is his fault for not seeking protection sooner."_

Angela let out a small sob when Hodgins finished reading. She instantly composed herself. "How in the hell are we going to get 10 million dollars in 24 hours?"

"I'll go make a withdrawal," Hodgins said. "We'll be sure to give this bastard whatever he wants if he'll keep them safe."

"Okay," after another deep breath, Angela was fully herself again, albeit a small waver in her voice, "We have to tell their families, and the FBI. I'll call Sweets and have him fill in the Bureau, and call Booth's family. I'll call Brennan's. We'll have them meet in the lounge and keep Sweets with them. Hodgins, you need to examine the letter and photos for fingerprints and any particles that can tell us where we are. Cam, congratulations. You just became a forensic anthropologist."

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

* * *

When their captor left, Brennan felt Booth's hold on her release – slightly. She knew that he was probably in a lot of pain, so she felt it wrong to ask him to move. Instead, she pushed on his shoulders so that his head rested directly on her chest, and she could feel his hair tickle her chin. She ran her hands along his back and found the source of the blood on the floor.

A cut on his back, by the length and width of it, most likely by a knife. She was relieved to find that the blood had mostly dried, probably from him lying on it for so long. She felt him flinch when she touched it so she decided to leave it alone.

She was tired and accepted his warmth as a kind of blanket and to ignore it in an attempt to sleep. Within a few minutes she drifted into the best sleep she'd had since finding out that Zach was in cahoots with Gormogon.

What she didn't know was that the sound of her heart beating and the feeling of her hands on his head made Booth feel happier than he had been in a long time.

* * *

"Mr. Keenan, please calm down!" begged an obviously exhausted Sweets. "I'm trying to tell you everything that we know, but you are making it very difficult! Now please have a seat and -"

"Just tell me this: Is my daughter safe? You said she was with Booth, so she has to be right?" Max Keenan was bordering on hysterics. His daughter – his Tempe – was apparently missing and this very young man was telling him absolutely nothing about it. "And call me Max; Mr. Keenan isn't my favorite thing to be called."

"Okay, Mr. – err – Max, I can't be sure if Dr. Brennan is safe at this very second. But, as long as Agent Booth is with her, I am pretty sure that she will be totally safe."

"And if he isn't with her?"

"If he isn't with her, and we don't know if they are together or not for sure, then it will be time to worry."

"Do you have any idea what happened?"

"The most logical explanation that the team has been able to come up with is that Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth were kidnapped by the murderer of a man named Richard Glocken. They were currently investigating this man's murder and were on their way to Philadelphia to question Mr. Glocken's family."

"Makes sense."

"Yes, Max, I would like to ask you a question. You haven't seemed to take much notice of the fact that we have not been formally introduced, or that I am involved in this case."

"Would you like me to be?"

"Well, it would probably make you feel better to know what I do."

"Sport, I remember you. You were the guy who was an expert witness of psychology for my trial! You asked me all those questions, and never really commented. Just a 'Hmmm' every once in a while. Not even a 'And how does that make you feel?' to change up the conversation. But go ahead; tell me what you know about my daughter and her partner that I don't already know."

"Yeah, that's me." Sweets began. Based on his self preservation instincts, he decided to overlook the 'Sport' comment. "I am a psychologist, as you already know. The FBI assigned me to work with Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth, after Agent Booth arrested you, Dr. Brennan's father. I was to find any reason that this would affect their partnership, and determine if they should be separated. When your trial ended, I was taken off their case, but they fascinated me so I asked them if I could continue to have weekly meetings with them. It was evident in their first meeting with me that they had a very deep emotional attachment, deeper than most partners. They are very protective of each other, and I believe that the death of either of them would be profoundly difficult for the other to adjust to. Dr. Brennan was put thru that test a few weeks ago when she believed Agent Booth was dead because of a bullet meant for her. It turned out he had faked his death to catch a criminal. She did not know this of course, and her reaction was to bury herself in her work, not talk to anyone but Angela and she never came to talk to me. Not even once."

"That sounds like Tempe. How do you think Booth would react, y'know, if…? Oh God. I can't even say it myself."

Ignoring the blunder in the man's speech, Sweets continued. "Agent Booth has had to face the reality that he could lose his partner a few times. Each and every time, he became sulky and bossy. If anybody and I mean anybody, screwed up or made him angry, he would threaten them, or throw them up against a wall. He would do something about it. Of course the entire time he was sulky and bossy, his eyes were glossy and he looked as if he was going to collapse at any moment. But, it always ended well. Thankfully." Sweets felt it necessary to add the last part.

"How do you know so much? Tempe couldn't have possibly been put in danger so much in the time that I was arrested to now."

"You're right. I know most of this from Angela. She is basically a psychologist with no formal training. Please stay up here; I'm going to go down to the lab to see if the team has found out anything else. Agent Booth's family will be here within a couple hours. If they arrive before I get back please ask one of the security guards to get me."

With that Sweets exited the lounge, grateful to be out of the presence of Dr. Brennan's father. Dude was scary.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

* * *

The creaking of the door woke him. The sound of the footsteps made him flinch, as if in anticipation of the pain he knew was coming. That's why he was surprised when all that hit him was a plastic water bottle and what felt like a sandwich.

"Agent Booth. You are one tough ol' guy. That's why this time I brought someone to help me this time. How do you like that idea?" No response. "Agent Booth? You really should think about cooperating, for your partner's sake."

This warranted a groan. Booth was weaker than he would have liked to admit. But he knew that he would become weaker still if he didn't play along. And his captor and his cohort obviously knew that.

Booth felt himself be lifted off of Bones. He tried to hold on; he really did. But the two strong men were no match for him. In his semi-awake and coherent state, he could've sworn he saw her lift her arms in an attempt to pull him back to her. But he could've simply been hoping.

After a few steps he felt a chair beneath him, and ropes securing him to it. As if to make sure that Booth wouldn't go anywhere, their captor inserted a needle into his arm.

"Enjoy your morning, Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan. Today is the beginning of day two. I know you don't understand what that means just yet. But today will be the beginning of Dr. Brennan's torture. Smile for the camera!"

* * *

"Hi, Cam. Coffee?"

"Yes! Thank you, Angela. I've been working on the bones here and I must say I've gained a newfound respect for Dr. Brennan. I've found what I believe to be the cause of death." Cam was obviously tired, as if she had worked all night. The forensic anthropology textbooks strewn about the platform reinforced this theory.

"That's great, Cam. So you were right about the gunshot to the head?"

"Yep. Thirty-Eight Caliber, most likely from a hand gun. Death was instantaneous. However, what led up to death was far less merciful. He was beaten with something circular, I think. I'd say a baseball bat, or maybe a pipe. That's all I've found so far."

"Well that's great Cam!" Angela was trying to be supportive, but on the inside she was falling apart. To try and keep her mind off of her own sadness she continued, "Booth's family arrived late last night. It's just his dad right now. And, his dad is scary. His mom's coming with his brother, Jared, sometime today. That's all I've gotten."

"Miss Montenegro? Another letter has arrived." The security guard handed the envelope to Angela.

"Thanks." she sighed. "Well, might as well open it." She read loud enough for Max and Mr. Booth to take notice, especially when they heard their children's names:

_Dear Friends of Dr. Temperance Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth,_

_Hopefully you've gotten the money I asked for. Deposit it to an account numbered 58469-58426 of the Bank of the Tropics. _

_The torture shall continue today. Since Agent Booth has already taken his turn, I think it is only fair to let Dr. Brennan and I have a little fun. Of course the good Agent will be forced to watch, probably something he will not like. _

_It is 9:14 AM on Day Two. You have 24 hours to deposit the money, and destroy any evidence linked to the Glocken murder._

_Your next set of instructions will be arriving soon; enjoy the pictures. _

"Enjoy the pictures?" shrieked Max Keenan. "What pictures? I want to see these pictures of my daughter and her partner. I want to see them with my own eyes!!"

He ran down the stairs but was stopped by security.

"I'm sorry Max," said Angela. "You can't come down here right now. We'll bring copies of the pictures to the lounge in a little while. Go sit down and chat with Booth's dad. Go on, now."

Max nodded his head, in understanding and walked back up to the awkward silence that filled the lounge. He decided to do something about it.

"Your son is a great man." _Might as well start with something honest_, he thought.

"How do you know him?" an inquisitive Mr. Booth asked. "Perhaps he has a bastard child with your daughter, like my first grandson, Parker?"

"Well, I don't think so," Max began. "But he is the nicest guy who ever arrested me. He's good to my Tempe. He takes care of her; I was never really good at that."

Then Sweets came and saved them both from what could have very possibly been a civil conversation.

"I have very good news, for you both," said excited Sweets. "Dr. Hodgins was able to compare particulates from the letters we have received and the particulates found on Mr. Glocken. They are a match, which means that Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth are where Mr. Glocken was killed. This has been isolated to an area of Philadelphia, in an abandoned concrete warehouse and factory. FBI agents are on their way."

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

* * *

Brennan ran to Booth the second she heard the door close. Or, more accurately, she hobbled to him. He was drifting in and out of consciousness, and could barely support his own head.

She untied his hands, followed by the rope that held him to the chair. She was about to untie his feet when she heard the door open suddenly. In an instant she was pulled away from her partner and thrown onto the floor. She felt all the strength escape her.

"Dr. Brennan!" said their captor. "It's your turn now. But, let's make sure that Agent Booth can see us. Because, if he can't see us then, there's no point in what I'm going to do to you."

A small groan escaped Booth. "What're you going to do to her?" He sounded weak, like it hurt to breath.

"You'll see, Agent Booth." Within a minute of this statement, their captor had pinned Brennan to the ground and begun removing her clothes. The shirt went first, and Booth looked away, as an instinct. The scream pulled him back. The removal of his partner's jeans caused him to look away again. Then he tried to stand up. He ended up on the floor.

Crawling towards them, Booth felt the pain in his back more than he had the entire time after it had been beaten. All that mattered was getting Bones – HIS Bones – away from this madman.

He reached them, and all he could do was pull their captor off of her. He was prepared to kill the man with his bare hands when someone, probably the accomplice of their captor yelled from the door, "Boss, cops are here! Let's move!"

Their captor ran, taking Brennan's clothes with him, cursing with every breath, slamming the door behind him.

But all Booth could hear were the quiet sobs of his partner. He crawled over to her, and was relieved to find that her bra and underwear were still untouched. He clenched his teeth thru the pain of removing his own button down shirt and lifted her slightly, putting it on her.

After that he gathered her into his arms and let her cry, because he didn't know what else to do but wait for the cops that were supposedly coming. When he heard the door open for a final time, he allowed his body to fall into unconsciousness.

* * *

**_A/N: Super short, I know. But the next one's longer! I PROMISE!_**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

* * *

"Brennan? Sweetie?" Angela tentatively asked. She and Brennan's father had been sitting by Brennan's bedside for what seemed like hours. They had watched for any sign of movement, and they got it when she had fluttered her eyelids.

"Ange… Dad, is that you? What's going on? I was with Booth. Where is he, dad? Where's Booth?"

There was no response.

"Angela, tell me where Booth is!"

"Sweetie, Booth is in his own room. That beating that he took, it took a lot out of him. Hodgins is waiting for him to wake up, with Booth's family. He has a lot of internal bruising; it'll take a little while to heal. But, he should be totally fine soon. But let's talk about you. Do you remember what happened?"

"Yes! The bastard that captured us tried to rape me, but Booth got to him before he could do anything but take my clothes. Then Booth put me in his shirt. I remember. But I want to see BOOTH! I don't care about any of this – "She started to get out of bed – she didn't get very far.

"Tempe, you have to stay in your own room until the doctor says that you can leave! You are being treated for dehydration, so you've got to take it easy… But you can leave the hospital tomorrow… That's good, right?" Max was totally overly optimistic that Brennan would be pleased with this.

She wasn't. She wanted to talk to this imbecile that called himself 'doctor' and find out why she couldn't see her partner.

About an hour later, Brennan got her wish. A young doctor came into her room and introduced himself as Dr. Lawrence. She wasn't really paying attention as he talked about her degree of dehydration, her minor bruising and how she would make a full and speedy recovery. She didn't even make eye contact with the man. When he asked her if she had any questions, she still wasn't paying attention.

"Miss Brennan? Do you have any questions?"

"Huh?" She looked at him. "It's 'Doctor Brennan' to you, and I don't see why you can't tell me anything about my – "

"'Doctor', huh? MD?"

"PHD; I'm a forensic anthropologist. Now, can you please tell me how my – "

"I'm sorry, Dr. Brennan. I'm being paged and it's urgent. I'll talk to you later."

Brennan didn't even bother finishing her sentence. She knew that to find out what was going on with Booth, she would have to take matters into her own hands.

* * *

Booth's entire immediate family, except for Parker, was gathered in his hospital room. His immediate family and Hodgins. Hodgins had given up trying to make conversation an hour before when he realized that anything that came to his mind to talk about were conspiracy theories that pretty much tore apart the Booth family's beliefs. So he decided to stay as invisible as possible, and was as shocked as any of them when there was a knock at the door.

He turned around. "Dr. Brennan?" He asked. His boss looked the same as she had before she had been kidnapped. There were no bruises on her face. But something about the way she carried herself seemed different. She seemed weaker. "Dr. B, do you want to sit down?"

"Yes," she replied quietly. "Yes, I would. Thank you Hodgins." Then she turned and realized that they were not alone in the room. "Oh, hello. You must be Booth's family… Anthropologically speaking, it makes sense that you are here, to comfort the pain of a loved one. However, in my current condition I did not come to that realization before I came here. My name is Dr. Temperance Brennan. I'm your son's partner. Do you mind if I have a moment alone with him… I – I need to talk to him."

They all looked at her. The woman she assumed to be Booth's mother was the first to come forward to give her a loving hug. "Oh sweetie," she said. "You take all the time you need." Then they all filed out of the room.

Brennan felt touched that they accepted her request so quickly, and moved to the side of the hospital bed and sat in one of the chairs.

Taking Booth's hand in her own, she began:

"Booth, it is extremely illogical for me to talk to you right now. You cannot respond, and I'm not sure if you can hear me or not. But, I don't really care about that. I – I can't live without you, Booth. I mean, I know that the death of one human being doesn't directly affect the physical ability to live. If – if you were to die, I should still be able to do the basic things necessary for survival. I should be able to eat, sleep and breathe. But, y'know, when you died, a couple months ago? When they told me, I couldn't do anything. I was stunned. I couldn't cry, I couldn't scream, but what hurt most was that I couldn't turn around and hug you and hear you say that it was all going to be alright."

She took a deep breath. "After I went home from the hospital, I looked in the mirror and realized I was covered in your blood. My first instinct was to get it off, to get clean. But then I realized that this was the only part of you that I could keep with me. So, I kept the clothes. They're in a box, in my house." Another deep breath resounded in the room. "I think I have to tell you this Booth, because I never told you before. I never told you before how much it hurt to have you gone. How much it hurt to turn on the radio and hear those songs we sang." She smiled. "Foreigner… Poco. To want to get a cup of coffee, and when I opened the cupboard I saw the cup that you insisted on using every time I gave you a damn cup of coffee. How much it hurt for you to break your promise to me. You said that you wouldn't ever leave me. That you weren't like everyone else, that you would stay. You said you weren't like my parents, like Russ, and that no matter what, you would always be there.

Even if it wasn't your fault, you left me Booth, you left me. And I need you around. I need you, I need my Paladin1." As she finished, Brennan allowed a single tear to slip down her cheek and, for reasons beyond logic and rationality, laid her head on her partner's chest and said four words: "Come back to me."

Sometime during the middle of her speech, Booth's family had crowded around the door to hear what she had to say. Hodgins had stuck himself in the middle of them, and was on the verge of fainting at his boss's almost out of character show of emotion.

However, what none of them noticed was that, around the time they had all gotten into their positions at the door, one Seeley Booth opened his eyes.

That's why they were all shocked when a small voice came from the bed. It said:

"That's a lot of heart, Bones."

* * *

**_A/N: Paladin: Defender of the faith; Protector. It's from the Season One episdoe 'The Woman in the Car'. I thought it would make a nice addition._**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

* * *

**_TWO DAYS LATER, AT THE LAB…_**

* * *

"Sweetie, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, Ange, hi! I … I couldn't sleep so I figured I'd come in and identify a couple cases from limbo."

"That's funny, Bren. 'Cause when I came in yesterday morning at exactly this time, which is, in case you were wondering, 7:30 AM, you told me the exact same thing. I find it kind of weird that you can't sleep in your own bed instead of the one provided by the hospital. So, you want to tell me what's up?"

"Angela, nothing is 'up'. I didn't sleep in the hospital either. They had to give me sleep aids."

"Every night?"

"Only one night. I was only there one night, remember?"

"Oh yeah, Sweetie. Did they say why?"

"They said that it is fairly common among people who are kidnapped, especially when they are held with someone they know. Rationally speaking, I feel it's safe to assume that they are correct. Because the last time I slept, without the assistance of drugs, was when Booth was holding me."

"So, basically you're six and Booth is your teddy-bear."

"I don't know what that means."

Ignoring her friend's obvious enjoyment of the phrase 'Ignorance is bliss', Angela continued. "Have you gone to visit Booth at the hospital?"

"No, I was planning on going today or maybe tomorrow."

"Sweetie, look at me." Angela paused for emphasis and waited until Brennan met her eyes. "Jack told me about the talk you had with Booth. He said that you left when he talked. That you just got up and walked out of the room when he spoke. Why won't you go back, Brennan?"

"Angela, now is neither the time nor place to discuss this."

"Well, what is Sweetie?"

At this Brennan simply turned and walked away, knowing that her friend would simply follow her wherever she went. In this case, it was her office.

Brennan sat on her couch, and turned to her friend. "Ange, before my dad's trial, Booth told me to let my heart lead my brain, not the other way around which is apparently the way I usually do things." She paused to take a breath. "He said that when I was in court, I should just be Temperance Brennan; that I shouldn't be logical and rational, and just act out of love for my father. Well, I did that at the trial, and I did that in Booth's hospital room. I was Temperance Brennan, and I wasn't logical or rational and I acted… Angela, I think I acted out of love."

Angela was understandably surprised by her friend's openness to the idea of 'love'. Particularly, the fact that Brennan had pretty much stated that she was in love with Booth.

Apparently, the shocked look on Angela's face counted as a response, because Brennan continued.

"Of course, none of this means anything. The love I have for my father is familiar… It is the same love that all children have for their parents. However, romantic love is simply an illogical emotion triggered by the release of certain hormones, symmetrical features and other reasons the subconscious may find for satisfying the biological urges that we all face – "

"Sweetie," Angela finally found her voice. "What exactly did you say to Booth, and what did he say to you?"

"In an eggshell?"

"The expression is 'in a nutshell', but yeah."

Brennan looked away from her friend, while thinking of what her response should be. After a few moments, she decided to be blunt. "I told him I needed him. I told him how much it hurt when he 'died'. I asked him to come back to me. He said 'That's a lot of heart, Bones.' That's all."

But it wasn't all. The tear that slid down her friend's cheek told Angela that. This was confirmed by a small voice that sounded a lot like Brennan, came from someone who looked a lot like Brennan, but if Angela hadn't been there, she wouldn't have believed that it came from Brennan.

"I think I love him, Ange."

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	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

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_**Secondary Disclaimer: Cheerios is a registered trademark of the General Mills Co. Please don't sue me.**_

**_A/N: In case you all haven't noticed, I LOVE MAX KEENAN. He rocks. It is so much fun to write him, because he is so awesome. Okay, back to the story now…_**

* * *

Booth hadn't seen her in a couple of days, and he was worried. His mom and dad had stayed with him, but his brother had had to leave. They were driving him crazy because his dad was being… well himself, and his mom was being super caring. His worry about his partner increased when one Max Keenan came into his hospital room. "Max! Is Bones alright?"

"Bones… that's what you call your partner, right son?" his father asked. "That is no way to talk to a woman, especially when her father is in the room. What did you arrest him for anyway?" Booth shot him an incredulous look. It translated roughly to, _what the hell?_

Max rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes she's _fine_. Don't worry about her. She's in her lab, doing whatever she does. Can I… talk to you for a minute, Booth?"

The senior Booth was about to object, when Booth's mom cut him off, "Well, if you're Dr. Brennan's father, I don't see why not. Come on, love, let's get some coffee." With that she dragged Booth's father out of the room.

Max smirked at the control the woman had of her husband. It reminded him of his own wife. "That's nice, y'know?" he said, looking at Booth. "Having a woman drag you out of rooms, tell you what to do. You don't think it's nice, until you've found someone who does it. Then you can't imagine your life with out her." Max's eyes narrowed. "Then you end up in a hospital bed, talking to her old man because you couldn't imagine seeing anything bad happen to her." Max walked to the foot of the bed and looked the FBI Agent directly in the eye. "You love my daughter. And I don't want you to forget that."

Booth blinked. He didn't think anyone had figured it out yet. He, of course, had figured it out a long time ago. Sometime around the Kenton/Fridge-blowing-up incident. But, he thought he'd been careful. The glances, small favors, 'guy hugs', he thought they were innocent. Apparently he was wrong. "Max." He stated. "Why are you here?"

"I went to a doctor the other day. I think it had something to do with being in a hospital, but something reminded me that I hadn't been in a while. I mean, I couldn't go after Ruth and I left Tempe and Russ; someone could've found us that way. Then I was still on the run; I didn't even get a check up until you arrested me and they did a physical at the prison. They had said my blood-pressure was a little high. I didn't think anything of it, then, but – "

"Max, get to the point."

"I have what looks like the beginning of heart disease. I'm getting old, Booth. I'm not going to be around forever. Whenever I go, Russ won't be good with it. He'll be too busy taking care of himself," Max sighed. "That he won't be able to take care of Temperance. I'm not saying that it'll be soon – the doctors say that we caught it early, and that I just have to watch my diet, something about cholesterol and Cheerios? Anyway, I want you to promise me, that you'll take care of her. She needs you even if she doesn't want to admit it to anyone. She needs you, Booth."

"I know. And I promise; I'll take care of her." Max nodded and turned to leave. "Hey, Max?"

"Yeah, Booth?"

"You are going to tell her about the heart thing right? Because, that's something you have to do all on your own."

"Yeah. I'm going to go do that now."

Booth watched the man leave. He watched the room's clock as seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours until it finally was 5 PM.

A nurse came in and handed him the discharge forms. His father and mother walked with him out of the hospital, dropped him off at his apartment, said their good-byes and continued down the road, on their way home.

He walked into his home, placing the small duffel bag of random necessities his mother had brought him in the entry way, and continued into the kitchen. Everything was as he left it. Everything was the same.

He walked to his family room, and relaxed his body onto the sofa. He then began to think. It took him about 15 minutes to come to a decision, 10 minutes to find his car keys, and half a second to realize what he was doing was right.

Her conversation with Angela had gone no where. Angela could not explain the feeling of love without mentioning some ridiculously personal thing that she and Hodgins had done (things that Brennan really didn't need to know about), or saying something that was completely irrational. On her way home, Brennan considered going to see Booth at the hospital. _Tomorrow_, she thought. _I'll see him tomorrow._

_Do I love him?_ She wondered. She kept thinking that one thought all the way to her apartment door, until she saw her father standing there.

"Sweetheart, "he said. "We need to talk."

They went into her apartment. She offered him a drink; he said no. He told her about the heart disease. She asked questions; he answered all he could. She gave him a hug and told him that she wanted him to be alright. He told her about the Cheerios; she laughed. He left. She watched the door close behind him.

She cried. She couldn't keep it all inside anymore. She barely heard the small knock at the door. She got up and answered it without looking through the peep hole.

Booth looked at her disheveled appearance and red eyes and instantly took her in his arms.

_I love him._ She thought.

* * *

_**A/N: In case you were wondering… The Cheerios thing that I brought up twice (I think) is in reference to those commercials in reference to, 'Eat Cheerios; Lower Cholesterol; be healthier'. I always wondered if that includes Frosted Cheerios, because those are seriously amazing.**_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

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_**A/N: Last chapter before epilogue. Think of it as the last five minutes of an episode, where they pick some awesome random song that totally fits Booth and Brennan. In this case the song is: 'Strong Enough' by Sheryl Crow. The lyrics will be randomly dispersed throughout the chapter, in italics. They do not belong to me; they belong to Sheryl Crow and the publishers and producers of the song. So again: Please don't sue me.**_

* * *

_God, I feel like hell tonight.  
__Tears of rage I cannot fight  
__I'd be the last to help you understand.  
__Are you strong enough to be my man?  
__My man._

She didn't know how long they stood in her doorway, him holding her, telling her that everything was going to be okay. The sweet murmurs of his voice and its rumble in his chest slowly faded along with her tears.

_Nothing's true and nothing's right.  
__So let me be alone tonight.  
_'_Cause you can't change the way I am.  
__Are you strong enough to be my man?_

Eventually, she asked him if he knew about her father, and he responded with a solemn yes.

"How long have you known?" she whispered.

"Since a few hours before I went home."

"He came and talked to you at the hospital?"

"Yeah, Bones. He did. Listen, I want to talk to you about something…"

His tone made her think one thought. She voiced this aloud. "Don't leave."

_Lie to me.  
__I promise, I'll believe.  
__Lie to me,  
__But please don't leave.  
__Don't leave._

"Bones, I won't leave. I love you."

_I have a face I cannot show.  
__I make the rules up as I go.  
__It's try and love me if you can.  
__Are you strong enough to be my man?  
__My man._

She nearly fainted. She gave him a look of shock, and what looked like disbelief. But, she didn't mean it like that; she was trying to figure out what to say next.

He was waiting for her response. She threw herself back into the safety of his arms.

_Are you strong enough,  
__To be my man.  
__Are you strong enough,  
__To be my man.  
__Are you strong enough,  
__To be my man._

"I love you, too." She whispered. He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. It reminded her of when she was younger and her father would do the same thing.

She felt so safe right then. Like nothing in the world could hurt her.

_When I've shown you that I just don't care,  
__When I'm throwing punches in the air,  
__When I'm broken down and I can't stand,  
__Will you be man enough to be my man?_

The two then looked in each others eyes and shared a kiss so sweet and gentle and passionate all at the same time, Brennan considered launching a scientific study of it. A second and third kiss followed, with a fourth kiss not far behind.

They felt as though they were encased in a cocoon of bliss. Brennan eventually broke off the kiss. "Booth," she said. "I'm tired."

He wordlessly picked her up, and carried her to her bedroom. Laying her on the bed, he asked, "Comfy?"

"Very." She smiled, her eyes closed. She patted the other side of the bed expectantly.

Booth, powerless against the woman, laid down beside her, took her in his arms, and drifted into a content sleep.

_Lie to me.  
__I promise, I'll believe.  
__Lie to me,  
__But please don't leave._

**_A/N: We all know he's strong enough right? Good. _**

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	9. Chapter 9

Epilogue:

* * *

_**2 Weeks Later…**_

Brennan was happy. She awoke every morning to the sound of her partner's ever so gentle snoring and his scent. He took care of her as she took care of him. When he force fed her junk food, she reciprocated by forcing him to eat health food.

He had described their relationship as 'symbiotic'. She had laughed at him and told him he was becoming a squint.

But, he was right. When one of them pushed, the other pulled, and vice versa. Their relationship hadn't changed much since their admissions of love. Booth thought the only real difference was that he could make love to her, and that was the truth.

They were still working together on cases as partners. They had decided to tell Deputy Director Cullen, to avoid sneaking and the bad things that follow. He had surprised them both by telling them that as long as they were professional in the field and in public, that he had no problem with them being together. The next day they found out why he was so happy; he had won 200 from Sweets because of them.

They still went to therapy with Sweets and because of the kidnapping, there were lots of things that still had to be sorted out. But, they were getting by, and living very well on the love of each other.

Their captor and his accomplice had been captured, and the trial would begin soon. They weren't worried. They knew Caroline would take care of it.

Booth felt her roll over and make herself comfortable against him. He smiled at the memory it evoked in his mind…

_He awoke to a heartbeat. It was not his own; it belonged to Brennan. His head was nestled just above her breasts and her hands were immersed in his hair. His hand rested on her stomach. _

_They were lying fully clothed in her bed, and neither had experienced anything quite that beautiful._

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**A/N: Thank you for reading! If you have time, please review. They make my day! Don't forget: Bones Season 4 starts on September 3rd! Two hours of Booth and Brennan in London... What's not to love?**


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